Brice just smiles as the halfling opens up the ebony box containing the three tiny daggers.
"The one in the center is the best of the three. It took me a while to get it right, but it should fit the grip of your hand like a well tailored glove. The other two are not quite at the same standard, but I had some extra time and materials when I finished the center one... so I decided you might want to be able to throw one or two without worrying about chipping the edge." Though he does not say it, the fallen noble is clearly very happy with the halfling's reaction to his present.
"I am glad you like it. I will eventually have to make you one better, but that will take materials I do not have yet and free time we likely do not have much more of. I somehow doubt that our Patron," as Brice has been known to refer to Cardinal Thorne from time to time, "will keep us idle here indefinitely." Hearing the problem with carrying it, Brice grins and touches the axe. It glows and reforms itself into a metal staff.
"There, problem somewhat solved... although if anyone sees you using it they will probably not be convinced it was a staff... and currently the affect would wear off in three hours... so not ideal I suppose. Perhaps I will be able to weave that ability into the next version of your axe... allow you to do so as needed."
Silarsha blinks as the axe transforms to a staff.
"I didn't know you could do something like that!" She shifts her hands towards the center of the grip, and frowns.
"It didn't change the heft or the balance at all. Still, this will be useful if we need to go someplace where obvious weapons are banned.
Finally, the team, much improved, gathers together for the final training session, a test of skill and teamwork. A small group of shadowy minions are brought into the courtyard and surround the Knot of Thorns, Brice quickly sees the weak point in the enemy formation, and points Charmaine towards it, while Silarsha keeps the main group occupied, cutting down creature after creature. Heverly manages to get in close and burn them away with fire, while Brice and Florian take out the wings with their own magic.
The group is quick and efficient as they work, and it is not long, with very little hurt, before they stand in front of Adrastus, having utterly destroyed their enemy. "Ah, you are ready. Tonight, we will feast. Tomorrow you will receive your first mission. Go prepare yourselves for the celebration tonight. "
"Thank you Father," Charmaine says graciously. "A feast! This will be so much fun! Can we bring friends?!" she asks. A feast is important, I shall wear my favorite costume!
Everyone has gotten a lot better. Training must have worked! I bet there is nothing we can't handle now! The Halfling hums quietly to herself as she goes over her various outfits before settling on her favorite red and black dress. Putting her silver symbol of Asmodeus on a sturdy hairclip, she looks at her handiwork in the mirror. Perfect!
Brice laughs a bit a the way the superior fighter is completely taken in by the illusion. And this, my dear, is why I kept our sparring sessions to only physical combat. I know I can probably best you with aid of my magic... consider that my ace in the hole in case we every cross blades seriously. No... the only way I would get better with wielding my sister was to face you without relying on magical tricks.
Carefully holding the Ulfen woman's hand, he guides it along where the axe blade remains, being careful to only guide it along the unsharpened portions. "This is why the heft and balance did not change. While the spell makes it look, and to some degree feel, like a different weapon, it does not actually make it into another one. If I had to do this for you, and we had to fight, you would need to treat this as if it was an axe still... for it very much is. Hence my not changing it into a greatsword. The magic would allow such a deception, but the illusion would be given away when you suddenly grabbed it by the 'blade' safely."
Brice nods, pleased both that his skills had improved and that he had been able to direct his companions to victory.
"Well done, all. Whatever our mission is I think we should be ready for it." Heading to his room to ready himself, he has his three thralls (the same three who have been serving him since he arrived three months ago) prepare his clothing and a bath for the evening entertainment. He also sets aside his spellbook so that he can go over it. I will need to ask for details tonight on where we are going. It wouldn't do to prepare spells for combat when infiltration is required... or vice-versa. Setting his sword down he sends a thought to it as he does.
<We are finally getting to go outside amongst our people again. Ready to begin implementing our second attempt at revenge in earnest, sis?>
As Brice shows her that the axe transformation was in appearance only, a look of understanding dawns upon her face.
"Ah. I see that now. Still a very useful spell!" she says as her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Stupid girl. Stupid. Stupid. You've been studying up on magic, you should have known that. Why didn't you pay more attention to the spell he cast? Get yourself together.
At some appropriate point during one of Heverly's gatherings, perhaps during one of the entertainment nights, Silarsha will sing for the group. While by no means an expert, her voice is strong and clear as she sings an Ulfen song with a mournful tone in the Skald tongue. She'll explain afterward that it is an old song of a woman whose husband went to sea and never returned.
As the last enemy falls, Silarsha lets her rage fade, and slumps over as the weight of fatigue hits her.
Sheathing her sword, she pulls a clean rag from her belt pouch, and wipes her face, arms and hands clean of sweat and whatever bits of shadowy minion that may have accumulated. When the Cardinal declares their training complete, she smiles and cheerfully heads to her room.
Upon entering she strips off her armor, weapons and most of her clothing, she has one of the Thralls, a young woman named Sylvia prepare her bath.
Finishing before the water gets cold, has sylvia re-braid her hair. She then dresses in her nicest dress but forgoes her armor and all weapons except for Blackerly's Sword, and a dagger. She then heads to the gathering.
Brice claps appreciatively at the singing of Silarsha and the dancing of Heverly. Taking them to the nearest outdoor courtyard, Brice concentrates and points somewhere visible to them but not likely to be seen very far away. Suddenly three magical rockets go forth from his hands within moments of each other. The rockets streak toward the ground he is pointing to, flipping and weaving through whatever brushes or other obstacles bar their path. Finally, they cheerfully explode in bright colorful showers of sparks and flashes, one after the other.
Panting a bit from the concentration, Brice smiles. "New spell... just learned... yesterday. Normally used for... festivals and the like. Can do damage though, if aimed right. Long range too, to get skyborne normally." Brice composes himself and leads the others back inside to enjoy the rest of the evening.
As the fight ends, Florian's reaction is somewhat subdued. The young man steps forward and looks closely at the remains of one of their defeated enemies. He frowns and shakes his head, displeased with something, then turns and walks away. As a group we've come a long way. More efficient, more coordinated. Not entirely pleased with my own performance on our little test, though.
The mention of a feast brings a small smile to Florian's face, though it appears he's still mulling over the previous fight in his head. He simply nods to Cardinal Thorn, then walks back to his room, gesturing at one of Thorn's thralls to follow him as he does so. He has the thrall draw his bath and prepare his finery for the feast. Florian bathes and finishes his preparations for the evening's entertainment quietly, clearing previous annoyances from his mind. What was it the priestess would always say? he muses, chuckling to himself. Ah yes. Feed your pain.
Once dressed and ready, he leaves his room and makes his way to the feast.
As the fireworks detonate, Silarsha claps at the display.
"That was great! I can see why that would be great for a festival. It could also be used as a signal at night, say to coordinate a raid from multiple sides. Not subtle, but that's not necessarily bad."
Heverly smiles wide at the burning swath of destruction she left in their enemy, feeling exultant in their fresh win. She congratulates the others before moving off to prepare.
Back in her rooms, she prepares herself, instead of taking the easy route with the circlet, Heverly takes time to do herself up, dressing up in her finest, a red gown of fine material with intricate embroidery and several nice pieces of jewelry to complement and accent the gown. Several hours later, and just in time, she is ready for the feast.
Thorn smiles down at Charmaine, "Of course you may bring the ogre. Though he is not part of the knot, I can see he will be with you." He stops Florian on his way out, seeing the man disappointed, "While you may not see your own growth, trust me, it is there. You have done great, and will begin to do great things as you now move forward to enact my plans."
<Oh yes, very much. This time it will be so much better too.> The voice is eager and strong, but then pauses and falters for a moment. <You don't suppose it'd be too dangerous, right? Maybe you should talk to Charmaine and she could hang back and run backup. You know, just in case it is.>
As you enter the great hall, you see an vast feast is laid out, in a beautiful presentation. A large roast boar sits at one end, with some kind of large bird at the other. Two large pots of stew sit in the center, with various side dishes scattered throughout the table. Some are easily recognized, others are exotic and unfamiliar. Though the table is large in order to contain the food, the setting is intimate. There is a large chair set on one side of the table, seemingly large enough for Grumblejack.
Charmaine stands briefly in awe at the feast when she walks into the room, Grumblejack easily on her heels. All this... For me? Walking slowly as she takes it all in, she slowly makes her way to her seat next to Grumblejack.
Once it is clearly appropriate to do so, she serves herself huge portions of boar, pie, stew covered potatoes, and small portions of some of the more exotic dishes. "This is amazing!" she finally says out loud. I bet we can have even more of this sort of thing once we shove those Mitrans on their knees!
<Hah... she might be stealthy and small, but I think the Ulfen woman would be more likely to keep us from getting skewered by the friends of Mitra brigade... still, we should be much better prepared to bring true knowledge and civility to our unwashed masses.>
Brice finally gets out of the bath, his thralls there to dry and cloth him. Wearing much the same clothes as he did when he arrived (complete with the fur cape... but not the gloves) and again carrying his sword and his spellbook, Brice heads into the feast.
Seeing Charmaine (as well as her ogre butler) Brice gives the halfling a warm smile. "A pleasant evening to you, my dear. I figured I would get one more night as myself before I have to embrace my inner arms merchant for a while." He smiles at his own joke and sits close enough to her to have conversation if she chose to, but far enough away that she would not feel obliged to do so. Looking toward the ogre, Brice rolls his eyes but not in an unfriendly or malicious way.
"I see your companion is polishing up slowly but surely like old brass candlesticks." Nodding to Grumblejack, the former noble smiles politely, and then proceeds to focus back on Charmaine while they awaited the others to arrive.
Florian arrives shortly after Brice does, wearing fine, fashionable clothing similar much like he'd worn his first day at the estate. He lets out a low whistle when he sees the feast laid out before them. "Well, well," he says with a grin. "The cardinal certainly knows how to put together a proper feast." And perhaps without some of the more... questionable dishes Urgathoans sometimes prepare. He eyes the food, though he sees nothing that really appears out of place.
He grabs the nearest wine bottle and, rather than find a glass to pour it in, begins drinking directly from it. Florian gulps down about a third of it in mere seconds. Hand still gripping his bottle, he saunters over to Brice, Charmaine, and Grumblejack. "And a good evening to you all!" he greets them with exuberance as he takes his own seat. "Hope I'm not late for the festivities."
Silarsha enters the room and takes in the setting laid out before them.
This is even bigger than some of the feasts Father held. And for less people.
Seeing Florian guzzle most of the wine bottle, she smiles and shakes her head. Maybe not so different than home after all. . .
"Good evening everyone." she says filling a cup with some Mead from a bottle on a side table she walks around the main table looking over the selection of foods. "This all looks so good, I'm not sure what to try first."
She then begins to fill a plate with small amounts of the different foods, looking less like moderation, and more like wanting to try a bit of everything.
"The Taldan people take pride in eating anything set in front of them; no matter how odd or revolting it might appear to be. There's not many things I can say I agree with them about, but this is one."
"An arms merchant? Should be fun! The last time we talked about disguises as a group, we were thinking of posing as a traveling family! Your idea should fit right in," Charmaine says between bites of food. "Grumbs and I practice every night! We now those Mitrans would never accept him, but we don't need to let other people's s&!$ty opinions dictate how we act, do we Grumbs?" Grumblejack nods with a grunt of defiance.
"It still looks like we are just getting started! The night is young, Father has yet to arrive, but all the good stuff is here!" she cheers, eager to have a lavish night of fun with her new family.
Brice nods to both Florian - Nice to see his tastes in excess have not changed, - and Silarsha as they arrive. Waving toward the decanter of fortified wine, it levitates and pours a moderately sized glass. "Well, anyone still looking for me is likely to be thinking I would be... well, me," he smiles gesturing to himself with one hand, reaching out with the other. The now full glass floats gracefully to his outreached grasp. "Very few of my house even suspected that I can, in fact, do anything useful. Fewer would dream that I would try to pass myself off as a member of the ... lower classes. And none of them would believe that I could do what I claimed to be able to do in those boots."
Brice smiles and takes a graceful sip. "Granted I have been posing as a half-elf until now, but I can modify that to fit whatever the situation requires."
"As do I, my dear," Florian chimes in, looking over at Silarsha. "Life is quite dull without being able to indulge the senses once in a while." As if to emphasize this, he begins piling a variety of different foods onto a couple different plates. He stops to inspect a few of the more exotic dishes, but grabs a few helpings nonetheless. "I'm not entirely sure what some of these things are, but I'm certain I've eaten stranger things." After a chuckle and a shake of his head, he begins eating.
"Oh, and Brice," he says after a few bites, gesturing in the man's direction with one hand. "If you need any pointers on playing the part of a commoner, particularly a merchant, let me know. I have a little experience with that." Florian grins at the former nobleman before polishing off the rest of the wine bottle and tossing it to one side.
Heverly finally comes in looking immaculate, almost as if she were attending a feast at one of the major nobles houses. Her gold hair done up to show her strange ears reminiscent of felines.
Heverly smiles wide at the others and comes in to join them, taking an open chair. She shows hesitance at first in indulging, but after watching some of the others dig in so readily, Heverly picks up her pace a little, heaping a few of the tastier dishes onto her plate.
Finally, seated and served, Heverly raises her glass in the air, "A toast. To us! Our success may not be guaranteed, but we are strong, and have made ourselves stronger still. We can take on any challenge that lies before us."
Silarsha nods at Charmaine's comment on the disguises.
"At least now if we pose as a family, we won't need to dress up anyone as a man. A pack of women travelling alone would probably draw more attention than a merchant his family and a guard or two."
As Brice floats his wine around the room: That's a talent that would go over well at home; pouring wine without gettting up from your chair.
Turning to Florian.
"It's something my mother insisted on. No picky eaters in our family. I think it's because she spent some time stranded in the middle of nowhere, and had to eat what was available until she made it back to civilization."
As Heverly walks in, Silarsha does a double take.
Gods. She looks stunning. I don't look half as good, and this is my best dress.
When Heverly raises her glass, Silarsha does so as well; "To us! Jubel!" and after touching glasses witty the others drinks deeply.
Brice gives Florian a smirk at his remark, as well as a small nod of respect.
"Ah, I always forget that was your original calling in life. I might need to have you be... my salesman... or something. I am better about knowing the 'value' of things than most nobles, but not as instinctively as someone born to the buying and selling of...." Brice pauses, thinking and then asks, "What did your family sell, anyway?"
Brice lets out a low whistle at Heverly's entrance, and uses magic to pull out her chair for her.
"You look radiant, my dear, as always. May I pour you a glass of something refreshing?" He indicates to the bar with his free hand.
At the toast, Brice smirks. He raises the glass, drinks the remaining contents, then smashes it against the ground away from the others after all have finished. Magically preparing himself another drink, his smirk breaks out into a devilish grin.
"May that glass be reassembled and repaired by hand with no magic or heat before our enemies finish their suffering at our hands."
The new glass comes to the ex-noble and he turns to Silarsha. "I know many languages, my strong friend... that is not among their number. Normally I have magic that could allow me to understand the literal meaning of your words, but I did not think to prepare it last night. I will simply have to learn it the old fashioned way, I suppose."
After a moment or two, Brice magically serves himself several plates. each composed of various foods that went together, though his portion sizes on each were somewhat reserved. Throughout the course of the evening he "sets" each plate in front of himself as he finishes the previous "course", the dirty plate being whisked to the nearest thrall to be removed.
"So... has our Patron given any indication of where or what we are to be doing? Such knowledge might help me best pick what spells to ready for the morrow."
"Textiles, actually," Florian replies. His words begin to sound slurred as he speaks. "We've branched out some into commerce and a few other goods, but textiles are still our foundation." He stands and walks over to the bar, grabbing another bottle of wine and popping it open. He sniffs the open top and smiles before returning to the table to pour himself a glass.
Florian grins and raises his own glass during the toast. "To us! May Talingarde rue the day it crossed us!" In a flash his glass's contents are gone, and the empty vessel is tossed at a far wall. It shatters into a thousand tiny shards in the corner. The young man laughs uproariously. "It seemed like fun," he offers by way of explanation.
At Brice's mention of choosing spells, a look of realization dawns on Florian's face. "You know, I never did tell you all exactly how I learned magic. How I prepare my spells. All that." He smiles at the others, swaying a bit in his seat. "I should probably do that, you know, before we leave this place." He stares at the ceiling for a few moments, pensive. "After dinner, perhaps. I'd hate to ruin anyone's appetite."
He blinks. "But, uh, no, I haven't heard anything. Maybe he'll tell us later."
Looking to Florian, she replies; "It's Skald. Spoken mostly among my people, it's not as common as Taldane or some other languages. I suppose I could help teach you if you'd like."
When Florian speaks of his magic; He's right, I never noticed a spell book or anything. she turns to him and says "Ruin our appetite? That sounds. . . interesting. I've been reading up a bit on magic and magical theory, and while I'm no expert on the subject, I am now very curious to see that."
As the topic turns towards their next assignment: "I'm sure he'll tell us in due time. I just hope I've prepared the proper supplies. I'd hate to slow things down waiting for some essential item that I did not have the foresight to get earlier."
Tiadora and Thorn arrive as Brice and Florian are smashing their cups. Thorn smirks, but Tiadora snarls a bit and immediately catches some of the slaves to clean the mess up.
"Welcome all, I am glad you have gotten started already. Before we go much further into the meal, I intend to make your new knot fully official. There is a small ritual, that will solidify your place." Thorn nods to Tiadora, who grabs one of the slaves, as Thorn begins to chant a complicated magic. It is not long before a strange creature appears, barbs covering its entire body. The creature stands nearly 7 feet tall, and fires glow from its eyes. The servant Tiadora brought over stands before the creature and Cardinal Thorn only nods. The sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh fill the room for a long moment. When it is all over, there is little left of the slave.
Cardinal Thorn smiles at the gleeful creature, before drawing a small silver dagger, and drawing a line down its arm. He collects a small amount of the mingled blood there, then dismisses the strange, terrifying creature.
Cardinal Thorn then approaches each of you one by one, and draws Asmodeus symbol on your forehead. It seems to burn slightly as it touches you and you can feel a portion of Hell's strength coursing into you as he does so. Finally, Cardinal Thorn stands and pronounces, "The Nessian Knot is forged! You will make Talingarde tremble."
The cardinal shakes himself, and wipes his hands on a towel brought to him, "Now let us feast." He sits down at the table and begins to dig into the food there.
Now THAT was cool! Charmaine marvels a little at the fact that Father just summoned that AND was allowed to just take it's blood. While not thrilled with the fate of the slave, she doesn't seem bothered by it either.
"Thank you Father, we will make you and this institution proud," she says proudly, ignoring Tiadora as best as she can.
________
Looking Tiadora straight in the eye as she enters, Brice's characteristic arrogant smirk returns as he almost mockingly raises his new glass in a toasting gesture. <One day, my sister... one day.>
The smile fades a bit as the barbed creature arrives.
So now the man can summon barbed devils, eh? I wonder who's souls are temporarily unguarded while he gallivants up here?
Despite himself, the noble shivers a bit as creature rips into the thrall. At least she picked one of the males... probably to try to send me a message, no doubt...
The blood burns his forehead more than most there on account of his ancestry, but he merely bares his sharklike teeth in a grimace until it passes.
"So, my dear Cardinal, if I might inquire what mayhem we are being dispatched to perform on the morrow it would be beneficial. As much as dearest Tiadora might find amusement at it, I would rather not be arriving with spells prepared for burning the peasantry out of their homes when we are being called to mingle among them and gather information."
Silarsha stands as the Cardinal enters the room, and smiles as Tiadora has the broken glass cleaned.
I don't get that myself, but the people here are pretty odd. Probably some quaint local thing.
As the Cardinal starts casting his magic, she watches the movements carefully and listens to try to figure out exactly what he's doing.
And while she's still trying to understand what's he's doing she's surprised by the appearance of the creature.
Oh! A summoning.
She watches impassively as the slave is rendered down to bits of gore and gristle
Not normally how a Thrall would be treated, but again this place is odd. I wonder how it would be to fight something like that? The unarmed Thrall wasn't going to be a challenge, but I can't tell if I could defeat it or not. Probably not alone anyway.
As the Cardinal anoints her forehead and pronounces the Knot complete she whispers "Let me be his hand upon the throat of this world. All glory to the Dark Lord."
When the group resumes their seats, she'll offer the chair next to her to Tiadora placing herself as a buffer between her and the rest of the Knot.
Heverly's smile shines as she accepts the offered chair from Brice ]b]"Thank you , that would be much appreciated."[/b]
She turns to see the Cardinal and Tiadora coming in. She keeps her face resolutely passive as she watches the hateful woman coming to their feast.
At the ritual the Cardinal performs, she raises an eyebrow, but shows little other reaction. It seems such a waste to destroy a thrall, but I guess they must be easy to come by. Then the Cardinal is standing near her, drawing on her forehead, and Heverly understands. This wasn't just a random killing, this is a full ritual. It makes me wonder. . . . but then the strange sensations flowing through her overwhelm her thoughts and she sits back down hard.
Florian is mildly by the sudden appearance of Thorn and Tiadora, but can only think to give the two a nod and slightly drunken grin as they arrive, particularly to the devil woman. His eyes follow her a moment before he finally sits and looks away. He quickly grabs another glass and pours himself another drink.
Summoning. A devil, probably. He imagines that if he hadn't already tossed aside his sobriety, he might be able to recall what sort of devil that is.
He watches the thrall torn apart with little reaction, sipping on his drink as it happens. When Thorn comes to him and anoints his forehead with some of the creature's blood, he says nothing. Florian simply closes his eyes and allows the sensation of pain mingled with strength and power to wash over him.
Tiadora moves to sit in the proffered chair, but snears at Silarsha as she does. She then sets to eating, and despite what seem to be almost dainty movements, she devours the meal in front of her in quick bites.
Brice almost hears a growl coming from his sister. <You should kill her now. No one would miss her.>
At the spectacle of the devil, you can hear your sister muttering, <I think we could do that if . . .>
Cardinal Thorn laughs, "Straight to business it seems. Well then," he wipes his mouth with a cloth and sets his silverware down. "Your mission is war, my children. You will bring war to Talingarde."
"You have two objectives. First, you will see a shipment of munitions delivered to a bugbear chieftain named Sakkarot Fire-Axe." Thorn motions vaguely out the window where you can see a ship floating on the nearby dock. "He makes his camp on the northern coast of Lake Tarik beyond the Watch Wall. With this shipment, the Fire-Axe will have resources enough to unite the barbarous humanoid tribes of the north and light the fire of war."
"Sitting on the dock as we speak is the longship Frosthamar captained by Kargeld Odenkirk. Tomorrow when the ship is resupplied it will be your transport. The captain is a ruthless mercenary and not to be trusted. He knows nothing of the specifics of our mission and you should keep it that way. He knows he is smuggling cargo to the north beyond the Watch Wall. That is all he need know."
"Once the cargo is safely delivered, he will take you just south across the lake under cover of darkness and land you near the town of Aldencross. There our contract with Captain Odenkirk will be concluded."
"It is a shame how greedy he has proven. I had hoped to let the captain serve me again but it seems he is too much of a liability. Kill him. Kill his crew. Burn his ship and leave no survivors. It is crucial that no one suspects our involvement and that loose ends are taken care of." He stops considering then nods, "Be sure to reclaim the coin I gave him. Best not to be wasteful."
"That done, you will begin your second task. We will do more still to aid our ally the Fire-axe. The bugbears are mighty warriors but poor siege engineers. You will infiltrate the tower Balentyne, keystone of the Watch Wall, kill its commander and open the gate for Sakkarot’s horde."
"Once the shaggy monstrosities pierce the Watch Wall, the bugbears will pillage and lay waste to the townships of the north and the local garrisons will have no choice but to meet the Fire-Axe in the open field. Sakkarot is the most brilliant, gifted and murderous bugbear of his generation. I expect these battles will go poorly for the knights and yeoman of fair Talingarde."
"Do all of this and then when your task is done, break this clay seal." He hands Silarsha a delicately carved clay seal adorned with a tangled knot of thorns surrounding the holy symbol of Asmodeus. "I will have more instructions then. Succeed and I will see you rewarded handsomely. I hope I do not have to detail what will happen if you fail or betray me." He looks questioningly around the table.
"The mission you start upon today is a holy mission. The people of Talingarde think they safe in Mitra's hands. Soon enough we will remind them that there is no escaping the grasp of Hell. Let us toast our success."
He pours one glass of deep red wine for himself. He raises the glass and offers a toast.
"To war."
Silarsha listens attentively to the Cardinal's plan; nodding appreciatively as he lays out the first steps.
Hmm. An attack like that would surely destabilize things. The nobles will look powerless, and it will take up resources to fight them off. . .
As the Cardinal continues to outline the plan, she looks out the window towards the dock. Seeing the ship a smile grows on her face, and it's apparent she's excited to be going by sea. However when the Cardinal details the fate of the ship the excitement fades, replaced by a pensive expression.
That's very close to what happened to us. But he will know enough to ruin us if he talks. If he's that much a mercenary, he can't be trusted not to turn if caught or offered a better price. If it must be done for the greater plan, then so be it. I'll do my best to offer a more honorable end than my ship met. Even if the results are the same in the end.
With the final part of his plan outlined, Silarsha sits in consideration of all she's heard.
It's bloody brilliant. Even for a first step it will weaken them. Getting that gate open might be difficult, but we should be able to do it between all of our skills.I guess we'll see when we get there.
Silarsha accepts the seal from the Cardinal graciously.
"Thank you Cardinal. We will not fail. I'll keep it safe until then." tucking it away in her pouch.
She then raises her glass with the others and drains the cup in one shot.
"I find it best to talk business before getting too full of alcohol and food." Brice smiles as he then proceeds to listen to their marching orders.
At the end, he raises a glass. "To war." This time he drinks and does not smash the glass. "I do, however, have a question. Is it absolutely necessary to burn the boat to cinders? While I agree that loose ends and potential traitors in the ranks merit... effective, efficient and extreme response... the boat itself might prove useful, and one of our number," Brice inclines his head at Silarsha, "is familiar enough with boats that we might be able to use it later on." Brice smiles and takes a civilized bite of meat after dabbing it in the red wine sauce.
"Of course, I would not be so arrogant or so stupid to disregard to do this if you deem it essential. I merely submit that it might not be and thus ask before we set out."
The Cardinal nods, "You are welcome to seek another solution, but if an abandoned boat is found, suspicions will be raised and your job will be made harder. But I will not stifle your creativity as long as it does lead to success." He pauses and then adds, "If it makes a difference, I have a separate ship which will be made available once you've completed your mission."
Brice nods, his expression a mask. "This is good to know, but as you pointed out: it is best not to be wasteful. Having a second ship later on might prove useful, even if it would take some time to ready it for use once more."
Turning to Silarsha, he asks, "Raiders have ways of masking their boats when not in use, correct? I might be able to help bury it if nothing else, assuming we could ready it for such an... unusual... storage method."
Silarsha considers Brice's question, then replies:
"Masking the ship? As in changing the appearance? We don't do that like the Shackles scum. We use the same ship for raids that we do for trading or cargo runs. Or did you mean as in hiding it while we'd go off and raid a town or village? My father didn't did that. We focused on places closer to the water. There are certainly some that do so, leaving a few guards or concealing it some way, but we didn't."
Brice nods thoughtfully, though the frown on his face shows this was unexpected. "I was meaning more the latter than the former. An unattended ship that is visible will be suspicious no matter what kind it looks like, as the Cardinal said. Making it less visible or disguised to appear to be something else entirely, however, is less likely to draw attention." Brice thinks a moment, then asks, "How hard would it be to remove the masts? And how long would it normally take to re-affix them if you had them?"
Silarsha thinks for a moment.
"It really depends on the ship, some are built to have the masts be taken down, others it's nearly impossible. In any case, it tends to take a full crew of people to remove or replace a mast. Unless you just want to destroy it. Then just a couple people with axes and some time. But still, it could possibly be done."
Brice nods eagerly, and is about to continue before he notices the relative lack of interest from his fellow diners. "I would prefer to leave it in a good enough condition that we are not having to find a new one when we want her again, but we will have time to discuss this once the ship is ours I think. I just thought that you might appreciate having your own ship once more... the start of your own fleet perhaps... once we had time to retrieve it once more."
As they are leaving, the dining room, Brice takes Silarsha aside. "I did not want to bore everyone at the table, but my thought is that we could bury the ship on the shoreline, leave an innocuous marker, then come and dig it back up when we needed her again. My main concern is the masts... to bury the ship with them would likely risk their snapping and would require us to bury her deep to prevent their sticking up like some grizzly hand of a corpse. Try to observe whether or not it is possible to remove the mast quickly while we are onboard. I would hate to damage it, but absolute worst case we might have to."
The night wears on and the celebration runs high. Eventually though, the feast comes to an end, it is time to go back and prepare for the journey ahead. Far too quickly the next morning comes and it is time to pack and load yourselves onto the ship.
"I'll take a look at it. But it may be more trouble than it's worth. The Cardinal has a ship of his own it seems, and if we are going to keep hidden; sinking it may be the better option."
Silarsha instructs the Thrall, Sylvia to wake her early enough to be fully packed and ready to go with enough time to meet the others before they head down to the docks.
When the others arrive in the room, she greets them;
"G'morning. We should probably figure out how we want to deal with the ship's crew. The idea of the arms merchant and his family should work since we're shipping munitions, but we'll need to figure out our story."
She shifts the pack she's wearing to a more comfortable position.
"Or do we act more like we actually are? Even with false names and appearances, the crew will likely know more about us, but depending on the type of people they are, it might cause less trouble if they think we're not the type to be tried."
"Based on what we decide, I may have to stow this armor, and my weapons to look more innocent."
Brice nods. "Fair enough, my dear, fair enough. Just let me know prior to the fun starting what your opinion is. Now, I hate to cut this short but I need to go prepare my spells for tomorrow. Busy day and all."
Giving her a half bow, Brice returns to his room where he instructs the thralls that he is not to be disturbed by anyone for the next hour, after which time they are to come in and collect his clothes for washing as per usual, as well as to pack his traveling equipment into his backpack.
Brice rises and gets dressed, picking up his pack of equipment, his spellbook, and his sword. He meets Silarsha and has a thrall bring him a light breakfast snack. "I will play whatever part you need me to. This collar allows me to change forms as need be... merchant is just what I have been practicing."
Heverly joins the others, packed and ready to go. She is once again disguised as Genevieve. "Yes, I think we should definitely coordinate before we meet this captain. From what the cardinal said before, I believe he is aware of us to some extent already. We can always layer our disguises though. Pretend to be smooth toughs for the ship and its crew and the merchant and family for others. I don't know that we even need to shift our appearances back and forth. Just go on disguised as the family, but make it clear to the captain that these are disguises."
Waking in the morning, Charmaine bids goodbye to Grumbs and Mr. Snuffles. They better treat you both right here. I'll skin them alive if something happens to either of you. "Behave ok? I'll be back soon!" With a tight hug for both of them, she bounds off to the others.
"Well who is who in our family? Obviously, I'm going to be someone's daughter. I'm practically a human child already! I also do a good doll impression, but that gets so boring after a while!" she explains. "Do we want the Captain to know we are disguised? The more people who know something, the more risk others learn about the ruse. Oh, but yeah, what's our story? I love stories!"
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Silarsha considers Charmaine's opinion
"Even with the circlet, I'm not the best at looking different yet, but I've been practicing keeping the same look day to day. Genevieve or Charmaine are going to be leaps and bounds above me."
She looks over the group.
"Brice as the merchant and husband, Genevieve as his wife. Charmaine as their child, Florian as his brother and or apprentice, and myself as a sister or the nanny for Charmaine might work. Florian could also be the tutor, business partner or account keeper or something, since he's not really built like a blacksmith."
Turning back to Charmaine,
"Letting the Captain know at least one or more of us are disguised lets him think he has something over us. If he thinks we trust him, it might be easier to get his guard down when the time comes to silence him?"
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